The present invention relates to a pressing apparatus for a processing machine, preferably a woodworking machine, especially a grooving machine, including at least one adjustable pressing element that is provided for the workpiece which is to be processed and that is associated with a processing tool, preferably a cutter head.
With woodworking machines, a pressing element in the form of a pressing shoe is disposed upstream of the respective processing tool as viewed in the direction of transport of the workpieces that are to be processed. As the workpieces that are to be processed are transported through the machine, the pressing shoe presses the workpieces against an appropriate guide means or support. The pressing element must be disposed a specific distance from the path of the processing tool in order to be able to exert an optimum effect. If the working or processing tool is replaced by another processing tool that has a different path diameter, it is necessary to adjust the pressing element via a complicated process. In so doing, it is necessary to readjust the pressing element not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction. This involved adjustment is not only complicated and difficult, but it is also time consuming.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to embody a pressing apparatus of the aforementioned general type in such a way that the pressing element can be easily adjusted relative to the processing tool in a very short period of time.